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For nearly 1,500 years, a 180-foot (55-meter) Buddha stood carved into a cliff in Afghanistan. In March 2001, the Taliban destroyed it. The Great Buddha of Bamiyan was carved in the early 7th century along the ancient Silk Road. It was one of two colossal standing Buddhas surrounded by Buddhist monasteries, shrines, and painted caves. Both statues were destroyed in 2001. Today, their enormous empty niches remain, showing the scale of what was lost. The Bamiyan Valley was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003.